Love Run Half Marathon Training Weeks 9 & 10 Recap

Did wintry weather return to where you live?  Mother Nature has just been disrespectful!

The past couple of weeks has been so busy since my trips to Disney and New Orleans for vacation!  I was spoiled by running in warm, beautiful weather…now, we’re looking ahead to big snow storm!  I really thought we were going to get a break this winter…silly me!

Keep reading to hear about my last two weeks of training for the Love Run Half Marathon (now less than 2 weeks away!) and a quick recap on last Saturday’s Rock ‘N Roll Philly Half Marathon!

I’m joining Courtney of Eat Pray Run DC for her Winter Training Recap linkup and HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap!  These are great ways to keep accountable and share your workouts with fellow fit-minded individuals!

[bctt tweet=”How has your race training been going lately? #runchat #weeklywrap ” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]

Weekly Wrap: Rock ‘N Roll DC Half Marathon

On Saturday, I ran my 10th half marathon – RNR DC!  I ran this race for the first time in 2016 and absolutely loved it!  Last year, the weather was warm and I loved seeing the sights of Washington DC.  Unfortunately, the weather was SO COLD on Saturday that it made the race a lot more challenging.  And somehow, this year the hills were a lot tougher than I remember!

But regardless, I had a really fun time!  Neither my brother nor sister were in town, so I was solo for the main event.  I was so glad when Maureen, my friend from college reached out to me since she was running the marathon, her first!  She did an awesome job and we had a great time at brunch catching up in Old Town Alexandria.

My official time was 2:21:09… it turned out to be one of the slowest half marathons that I’ve had in awhile, but this was NOT my goal race, but a training race, so I have to keep that in perspective!  I followed Coach Laura’s plan for the race, but unfortunately, I didn’t execute it as well as I would have liked.  I really underestimated all those rolling hills and ended up so burned out that I couldn’t ramp up my speed as much as I wanted to in the last few miles.  Thankfully, this is only a practice for the Love Run half marathon on March 26!   I still have some work to do to make sure I get it right!

Look out for my full recap on Thursday…you know I love to share every single detail when I race! 🙂

Well the @runrocknroll DC half marathon is done! It’s funny how I ran this race last year yet this year the hills really surprised me…so definitely no PR for me haha! But I’m proud to say I’ve now finished 10 half marathons! Congrats to all the 5K, half and full marathon runners who braved the cold today! And special shout out to my friend Maureen who finished her first marathon today and did an awesome job! 💪Now it’s time to eat (and drink)! #RWNR #rnrdc #sweatpink #bibravepro #runnersofinstagram

A post shared by Janelle (@runwithnoregrets) on Mar 11, 2017 at 9:55am PST

Workouts for the Past 2 Weeks:

Monday 2/27:  It was my first day back from Orlando!  Rest day!

Tuesday 2/28:  I planned to do a run when I got home but instead went out for a celebratory dinner with Bret for his promotion!  No regrets on that, of course!

Wednesday 3/1:  Tempo day!  5 miles, 4 at tempo – 10:10 pace.  I did this run on the treadmill since there was a forecast of rainy/stormy weather.  It was really, really tough to keep pace and I did have to walk twice but only briefly.  I was exhausted when this run was over!

Thursday 3/2:  Our first day of vacation in New Orleans.  Bret was ready to run, so we went for 4 easy miles and ended up at Audobon Park, which was absolutely beautiful!  I was a bit tired after Wednesday’s tempo run, but I still had a solid easy pace.

Friday 3/3:  No running, but plenty of walking on a Garden District Tour and around New Orleans.

Saturday 3/4:  10-mile long run, this time heading towards the HUGE City Park and the Lake Shore.  We had an amazing time and my body felt incredible!  Only in the last couple of miles did my knee start “talking” to me.  I was really surprised that I could keep it up.

Sunday 3/5:  Our last full day in New Orleans had plenty of walking so that was enough for me!

I’m so late with everything, but last weekend I had an amazing time in New Orleans and you can bet I did a lot of running! 🏃4 miles to Audubon Park and 10 miles including City Park and Lakeshore! The weather was great and I was glad to wear my @buff_usa UV half buff since I got pretty sweaty during the 10 miler! It does an amazing job with sun protection and sweat absorption, though I still came back with a tan! 😊 Can’t believe I’ll be running @runrocknroll DC in 20 degree weather this weekend! 😣#buffusa #bibravepro #RWNR #TBT #halfmarathontraining #sweatpink

A post shared by Janelle (@runwithnoregrets) on Mar 9, 2017 at 4:39am PST

Monday 3/6:  Quick core work including V-ups, bird dogs, pushups, bridges, and 3 minutes of planks.

Tuesday 3/7:  I planned to go for 4 miles but came home to a house with no power…so that threw everything off!  There was a fire at a local power substation.  I have to admit I really struggled with the lack of electricity, especially since our cell phone reception is very weak in our neighborhood and there was no Wifi.  I know, first world problems….

Wednesday 3/8:  Yoga at lunch for the first time in a VERY long time!  It was pretty easygoing and relaxing.  After work, I did my fartlek run – 5 minutes of warmup, then 8′ x 3′ of running/recovery…the goal was 9:40-9:50, and I went way too fast the first round, much slower the second round due to the big hill and my fatigue, and probably did my best on the final round.  It was my first outdoor run in my neighborhood in a while and thank goodness because it was about 60 degrees – perfect weather!

Thursday 3/9:  Spin class after work was quite a workout!  Somehow all of the songs seemed twice as long as they actually are…I was relieved when it was finally over!

Friday 3/10:  Rest day!

Saturday 3/11:  The Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon!  Recap coming Thursday!

Sunday 3/12:   Another rest day…my body needed it!

Week 9 and 10 Report Cards:

Week 9:

I’m really happy with how week 9 of training turned out.  Tempo runs are really challenging for me, but I think it’s a good thing that it’s making me work so hard.  And I absolutely loved my long run in New Orleans!  It went really well and I felt strong.  The funny thing is that I ended up getting a tan in the process and now my face looks all kinds of crazy without my glasses on, haha!  Because of the lack of cross-training, I’m going to give Week 9 a B+!

Week 10:

I missed one of my easy runs this past week but made the most of all of my other workouts.  It was great to get back to yoga and spin and regain some sense of “normalcy” after being in vacation mode for so long!  My fartlek workout was tough but I’m really happy with how it went.  And while the half marathon was much harder than I thought it would be, I still had an average pace of 10:35.  These hills will definitely prepare me for the Love Run!  I’m going to give Week 10 an A-!  

P.S. – the Love Run Half Marathon is almost sold out!  If you’re interested in signing up, hurry!  You can still save $7 on registration with code JANELLELOVE!

How has your training been going lately?  What races are you looking forward to this spring?